


Fear of Heights

by Antares



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Time, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-26
Updated: 2013-05-26
Packaged: 2017-12-13 00:43:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/817957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares/pseuds/Antares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the Cheyenne Outdoor Center Daniel struggles to overcome his fear of heights. Jack O’Neill, the climbing instructor, tries to help him. But it’s difficult, with Sarah Gardner and Steven Rayner around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fear of Heights

**Author's Note:**

> Many, many thanks to my beta Shazz! Many thanks to pinkdiamonds, Shazz and Beth for brainstorming, beta-reading and hand-holding, and giving me some wonderful ideas. All remaining mistakes are mine. 
> 
> Written for the jd_ficathon. Prompt: smart Jack and perceptive Daniel, teamy goodness  
> Optional Request: mythology references are always awesome, as plot points or AUs

\------------------------------------------------------------

Jack O’Neill was sitting at his desk in his office in the Cheyenne Outdoor Center. There were papers strewn all over the tabletop and it wasn’t the first time Jack wished he could delegate at least some of this boring administrative paperwork to someone else. But when he had hinted at his employees that they should do this they had both refused. Sam Carter telling him in no uncertain terms she had been hired to be a climbing and ski instructor and even adding a half-mocking ‘Sir’. Tealc letting him know in solemn words that he had utmost confidence that O’Neill was the best for the job. That was it. 

With a sigh Jack looked at another letter. He really should get his lazy ass off the couch and hire a replacement for Paul Davis who after marrying Janet Fraiser had moved to Denver. The busy winter season was not too far away. Until then he should have found somebody. He looked at the application letter of a certain Jonas Quinn but somehow his grin was too broad to really warm him to this guy. 

When there was a knock at the door, Jack wasn’t unhappy to be disturbed. Sam and Tealc entered the room, took a seat opposite him and they began discussing the day’s schedule. 

“I start today with the group from New York for a four day hike, and I’ll be back on Thursday,” Tealc announced. He loved these longer tours and O’Neill was happy to let him have them, because he was starting to get too old for sleeping on the ground on a thin air-mattress. 

Sam took out her brand-new smart phone, scrolled a bit and said, “There are my two regular climbing lessons this morning and yes, here it is. There’s a new group from Chicago; three people, two men, one woman, who booked one week of climbing lessons. Do you want them, or shall I take them, Jack? Perhaps you’ve got still a bit of paperwork to do?” She regarded him fondly knowing full well what his answer would be. 

“Beginners?” Jack asked and patted his knee absentmindedly. Nowadays he preferred the beginner classes because his knees hated him when he climbed or skied for more than two or three hours. 

“They checked ‘no experiences’ on their registration form,” Sam verified. 

“Then I’ll take them and you have the afternoon off,” Jack decided and was rewarded with a smile. 

“Perfect. Thank you. Mr. Siler from the garage promised me some spare parts for my motorcycle would arrive today.” 

“Okay, go ahead and tighten the screws on your darling bike.”

* * * 

Five hours later, Jack was standing in the climbing gym and explaining the basics of climbing to a bored redhead, Sarah Gardner, a dark-haired man named Steven Rayner who acted very blasé, and Daniel Jackson, an earnest looking young man, the ‘Teacher’s Pet’ type. But at least he was the only one who was really listening to what he was saying and that earned him Brownie points in Jack’s book.

“Can’t we start climbing already?” Sarah asked petulantly when Jack once again stressed the fact to always climb with a helmet and to never go out there alone. 

And that was how the afternoon proceeded. Sarah and Steven were quick learners and mocking their colleague mercilessly when he was uber-cautious and didn’t climb higher than he was tall. 

“Come on, Daniel,” Sarah said. “You’re a big boy, and you’re secured by your full-body harness and the ropes, there’s no danger whatsoever. Look, no hands!” She laughed and let herself dangle free from the ropes. 

“I know that there is no obvious danger,” Daniel admitted. “But …” He wished he hadn’t agreed to this. This was much worse than standing on the observation deck of the Sears, much worse than drinking coffee in the open loggia on the fiftieth level of the Jordan Tower in Chicago. There were always windows or at least a railing between him and the abyss. Here – nothing! Only ropes. And he suspended terrifying six feet above the ground. 

“It’s the height, isn’t it?” Jack asked calmly. He had seen the look on Daniel’s face often enough to know when somebody fought hard to overcome his or her fear of heights. As far as he could tell, Daniel hadn’t been successful in convincing his brain that he was secure, even if the ground wasn’t that far away. 

“Yes.” Daniel sighed. He was relieved that Jack didn’t ask him to go faster or further up. But perhaps he dealt more often with chickens like him. 

“Look, even Steven reached the top of the route,” Sarah teased, pointing to where the other man rang the bell near the ceiling to triumphantly announce that he had made the whole thirty feet, before he was abseiling with a loud whoop. 

Jack wondered – not for the first time this afternoon – what the relationship between these three was. Other than all of them working for David Jordan Industries, and this holiday being a bonus for outstanding work during the last years. He sensed an underlying tension between the three of them; but after only an afternoon spent in their company he wasn’t able to decide if it was on a professional or a personal level. There were sometimes lingering looks that made him think that there was sexual attraction involved. But he didn’t want to be in poor Daniel’s shoes if this was true. 

Of course Sarah with her strawberry blond, wild hair was a beauty, but she was dearly lacking in compassion in Jack’s opinion.  
And the same was true for Steven. Handsome but … somehow smarmy. Jack hadn’t figured out yet, if he was more interested in Daniel or in Sarah. But also he preferred boasting about his achievements than helping his colleague to overcome his phobia. 

That brought him back to Daniel. Jack felt a sudden surge of protectiveness for him and he decided to help him against his co-workers. So he offered a private lesson after Sarah and Steven had left for the Jacuzzis while Daniel had stayed behind to help him put away the ropes, harnesses and helmets they had used. 

Jack felt ridiculously pleased when Daniel accepted his help and chided himself at the same moment not to add another element to this already complicated triangle. 

“Okay, Daniel, baby steps. For today it is enough to reach that red hand-hold over there.” Jack pointed at a hand-hold perhaps fifteen feet high. “There’s nobody here but us, so take your time.” 

“You’re sure you’ve got nothing better to do?” Daniel asked. He furrowed his brow and gave Jack a scrutinizing look. It wasn’t clear which answer he preferred, a ‘no’ or a last way out. 

“Quite sure.” Jack grinned and didn’t add that Daniel’s cute ass a few inches away was a sight for which he would put all paperwork aside. 

“Fine.” Daniel sighed deeply and looked anything but fine. But he started climbing. It went well until he looked down and then he was frozen in place. There we go again, he thought defeated. Even without his colleagues criticising each and every of his steps he wasn’t able to scale at least ten or twelve inches on this silly wall. He was furious with himself. 

“Put your left foot on the blue hand-hold,” Jack advised calmly from below. 

“Easier said than done,” Daniel mumbled. He hesitated to give up his hold. Jack had said to always hold onto three points on the wall, but Daniel felt better with four points; although that obviously made climbing impossible. He forced himself not to look down again but to search for the blue hand-hold Jack had indicated. That wasn’t too far away, he persuaded himself. And with an immense effort he placed his left foot on the blue hand-hold. 

Done. Daniel exhaled audibly and felt a small spur of pride of having accomplished it. He asked himself if Jack had meant such small baby-steps. 

“Very good,” Jack praised without the smallest hint of ridicule in his voice. “Now put your right hand on the yellow one. It’s only a few inches away.” He knew how important it was to go as slow as a snail. Only then did people have a chance to conquer their fear. 

With their combined efforts they got Daniel to the red hand-hold that was their goal for today.

* * * 

When Daniel was back on solid ground it was obvious he was very proud and his eyes were shining with excitement. “I did it!” He grinned from ear to ear. He was so elated because it felt to him as if he had climbed Mount McKinley.

“Yep. You’re a genuine gecko.” Jack laughed and gave him a short hug until he remembered his resolution not to meddle with the dynamics in this strange group. And against his better judgement he said, “Sarah will be impressed.” 

“Do you think so?” Daniel asked hopefully. 

“Well, I am,” Jack answered as if that was reason enough. “It’s about conquering fear and not about being the first to arrive on top or climb the highest wall you can find.” 

Daniel gave him a very relieved and admiring look that made Jack’s heart beat faster.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

The next afternoon showed that Sarah and Steven weren’t as easy to please as Jack. They didn’t understand that fifteen feet for Daniel was a greater achievement than the whole wall for them. And Steven made it clear that he was eaten by professional jealousy because he harped on about how Dr Jordan would be disappointed if he learned that there was a domain where Daniel wasn’t his model student.

One hour later Jack was so fed up with their constant nagging and talking Daniel’s efforts down that he had really to bite his lip not to voice his opinion out loud. Daniel made more mistakes than the day before and seemed to lose confidence by the minute. Jack couldn’t jeopardize the good reputation of the Outdoor Center but he was sure five minutes more with them and he would explode. How could anybody be so mean? Or was this his growing attraction to Daniel speaking? He wasn’t too sure what his reasons were, but he decided to split the group up and called Sam to the climbing gym. He wasn’t only going to improve Daniel’s climbing skills but also cheer him up. 

“I think Sarah and Steven are up for climbing the first route on our rocks,” he sugar-coated the sudden change of instructor. 

Sam gave him one questioning look then she was all professional again, congratulated the two of them on their progress and finally took them with her. 

Jack couldn’t suppress a deep gasp of relief which made Daniel chuckle. 

“Oh,” Jack said with a sheepish grin. “I’ve been a bit too obvious, haven’t I?” 

“No, that’s fine with me. It takes a certain time to get used to it… to them,” he explained. “It’s the same where we are working. They are constantly in a competitive mode. Always trying to impress our boss. They can also be quite nice,” he added. “But in the last months it’s become worse because there’s a promotion in the air. Only one of us is going to be the next head of department.” He shrugged. 

“Which department?” 

“Finance and accounting.” 

“Hey, I could use someone for all the paperwork here. So if it doesn’t work out for you, you still can stay here,” Jack joked. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Daniel grinned back. 

“Okay, then. We’ll tackle the blue one over there?” Jack asked and indicated a hand-hold a bit further up than that yesterday. 

“If you say so,” Daniel answered not in the least convinced. 

But like the day before, with combined efforts and the patience of a saint on Jack’s part, Daniel reached – with a lot of sweating and swearing – the chosen hand-hold. 

“Do you wanna grab a beer?” Jack asked when Daniel was back with him. 

“Absolutely!” And there it was again, the sparkling in Daniel’s eyes which Jack never saw when he was his colleagues.

* * * 

Fifteen minutes later they found themselves in Jack’s favourite bar where not too many tourists set foot into.

Daniel ordered beer for both of them and Jack asked, “Why did you agree to come here when you knew that you were afraid of heights?” 

Daniel took a sip from his glass and replied laughingly, “Because it’s all paid for by the firm?” Then he got more serious and continued, “No, I thought this would be a good opportunity to get rid of my phobia. If I had thought this through a bit more carefully I would have known that this couldn’t work out. With Steven and Sarah being around…” He let the rest of the sentence trail off. 

Jack would have loved to ask about the non-professional angle between the three of them, but perhaps it was still a bit too early for this sort of confessions. 

Fortunately, Daniel continued his sentence. “Obviously, she’s more interested in Steven than in me.” His tone was very neutral. 

“Is that a problem?” Jack asked. His heart was beating suddenly much faster and he awaited Daniel’s answer with bated breath. 

Daniel looked up from his beer and his gaze met Jack’s eyes. “I don’t know anymore,” he confessed truthfully. At work, professional and personal boundaries had been blurred. He had admired Sarah for her ambition and determination, had tolerated Steven’s well developed competitive streak because it often had amazing results for their work. But here, stripped of the professional layer, the constant criticizing, boasting and nit-picking grated on his nerves. 

Sarah outside of her everyday work had been… a bit disappointing when he was truthful with himself. He had expected to find a different woman, a bit more relaxed, not so stern with herself. But now it seemed that under her shell of determination there wasn’t much else, and for the first time Daniel began to wonder if she tried to play off Steven against him to gain the promotion. 

Or how could he explain – in the light of today’s events – yesterday evening? She had stopped by his room, told him Steven was a horrible show-off and Daniel shouldn’t care about his bragging. She even had brushed a brief kiss on his lips before she had disappeared to her room. 

“I really don’t know,” he concluded his train of thoughts. 

Jack knew that he was pushing the boundaries quite far with his next sentence, but he was too anxious to know. “You could still take Steven up on his …uh… thinly veiled offer,” Jack continued as nonchalantly as possible. He added a conspiratory smirk, so that Daniel could see it as a joke if he wanted. 

“Oh no.” Daniel made a face. “He’s not my type. Too…slimy.” He laughed and downed half of his beer. Oh god, he had half-heartedly admitted that he had type in men. That was much more than he usually did. Fidgeting with his beer coaster Daniel waited for Jack’s reaction. 

“Good to know that you have a certain standard,” Jack wisecracked and raised his glass to Daniel. 

With a sigh of relief Daniel mimicked the movement. He gulped down the rest of the beer and ordered a second round.

“So, Jack, tell me what brought you here to this admittedly breathtaking landscape but nevertheless somewhat backwater sort of place?” 

“Hey, we have everything here. A school, two churches, a cinema, a library, a small museum, shops, bars, restaurants – what else do you need? Okay, I admit, in November they roll up the sidewalks unless we have a lot of early snow so that people can come skiing before Christmas. But all the rest of the year…” Jack had never missed the big cities and only very rarely went to Denver. 

Daniel continued curiously, “You’ve always been a climbing instructor?” 

“Nope. But I think you’re too young to know any players from the NHL ten, fifteen years ago,” Jack said. 

“Hockey?” Daniel asked hesitantly. 

“Oh, come on. You’re not one of those guys whose dad never took him to a good old hockey match?” Jack shook his head in feigned shock, and made little ‘tsk, tsk’ noises. 

“My parents died in a car accident when I was eight. And my grandfather, who raised me, wasn’t into sports,” Daniel explained. “But if you want to talk about Backgammon tournaments…” Daniel rolled his eyes and sent Jack a little smile. 

“Ouch. Every weekend?” 

Daniel nodded. “But enough of that. So after your career in the NHL was finished you came here?” 

“Yep. When I was too old for that sort of life I bought this Outdoor Center… well, you know the rest.” 

“No, I don’t. Tell me about it.” 

And so Jack told him about the difficulties of the first years, made him laugh with some funny stories, and narrated about mishaps and strange customers. In the beginning Daniel asked a lot of questions, then he talked about his own experiences, and later in the evening he confessed that he would have loved to study archaeology but he couldn’t leave his sick grandfather alone for months while he was on digs in god-knows-where. 

They talked for hours, but when Daniel started juggling with the peanuts that were served with the beer, Jack knew that the last beer had been one too many. 

Daniel wasn’t drunk but a bit tipsy, and Jack decided to accompany him to his hotel room. To the _door_ of his hotel room to be precise, because he couldn’t take advantage of this cuddly Daniel whose hand had unerringly found the small strip of naked skin between his jacket and his jeans – sending all the right signals to Jack’s brain. 

Back in the hotel, Daniel leaned against the doorframe of his room, his hand still on Jack’s hip. “Good night; Jack. Thanks for the lovely evening. Hmm… do you…?” 

Before he could finish his sentence the door to the adjacent room opened and Sarah appeared. “Here you are, Daniel. Steven and I were beginning to get worried when you weren’t in your room.” She shot Jack a very assessing look, obviously taking in the picture and evaluating it. “We wanted… to apologize for our teasing today.” 

Jack eyebrows rose. He would have bet his monthly income that she would have never apologized if she hadn’t seen the place where Daniel’s hand was still resting. Good. If jealousy made her friendly towards Daniel he wouldn’t complain. Purely for this altruistic reason, Jack gave Daniel a smacking peck on his cheek. 

Sarah slammed her door with an audible bang. Jack went home whistling.

\---------------------------------------------------------

The next day Sarah and Steve were climbing again with Sam, this time their route already quite challenging.

Daniel wandered around the small town, bought some souvenirs for friends back in Chicago, went to an Internet café and looked up Jack O’Neill. He was impressed with what he read. Professional hockey really was a back-breaking job. And there were so many injuries and surgeries listed that Jack had endured “in the line of duty”. No wonder he had looked for another job after turning thirty-five. And it made sense that after all these years spent with high-performance sport he hadn’t been able to shift down to a mere desk job. It seemed as if the Cheyenne Outdoor Center had been a good compromise. 

At five o’clock he went back to the climbing gym. Jack was still working with a dozen youngsters from the High School, so Daniel waited for him to finish, watching with awe how effortlessly Jack was able to keep up the discipline in the group all the while joking and kidding around. It was clear both parties had fun with this climbing lesson. 

After the last girl had disappeared with a joyous, “See you next week!” Jack came to where Daniel was leaning against the wall. 

“Hi,” Daniel greeted him. “Watching children climb, it seems to be so easy.” 

“Because they are nearly all lightweights, and usually they don’t overthink their actions. Contrary to a certain guy from Chicago.” He gave Daniel a short hug to take the sting out of his words. “Ready for the whole wall, today?” 

“If I have to,” Daniel answered and gave the wall a wary look. 

“Please, don’t show too much enthusiasm.” Jack poked Daniel in the side and offered him his climbing harness. 

Daniel started fixing the buckles and straps. One of them was twisted and Jack went down on one knee to straighten it out. I took him a moment to notice that his – professional – touch to Daniel’s thigh had a very interesting effect. The longer he was fiddling with the straps the more visible Daniel’s erection got. That was fascinating and very welcome. Jack would have loved to bend forward, press his check against this inviting package but instead he shrugged apologetically from where he was kneeling. “The strap is really that twisted.” 

Daniel cleared his throat. “It’s okay.” Good to know that Jack wasn’t offended by his noticeable interest. He took a deep breath, “No problem if it still takes you a moment.” He gave Jack an appraising look and hoped that he had read all the signs correctly. 

“I would like to but my knees are killing me.” Jack got up, winced, and took Daniel in his arms instead. When there was no resistance, he pressed his lips to Daniel’s. Something he had been tempted to do the whole of last evening. Warm, welcoming, everything he could wish for. Jack moaned into the kiss. 

It was Daniel who reminded him after a certain time that they were still standing in the middle of the gym where anybody could walk in on them every minute. 

Reluctantly, Jack let go of Daniel. “You’re right. Small town gossip travels fast, and some parents are still so dumb that they think twice about letting their child go to climbing lessons with an openly gay instructor.” He sighed. 

“That type of narrow-mindedness isn’t a privilege of smaller towns,” Daniel assured him. And to cheer Jack up he proposed, “I’m going for the top of the wall today?” 

Jack ruffled his hair. “You do that, gym-monkey.” 

“Hey!” Daniel complained laughingly and boxed him in the ribs with a certain force. “Watch your speech…monkey-trainer.” 

They found out that Daniel was a much better sportsman when he felt safe and trusted somebody. Yesterday evening and the kiss a few moments ago seemed to have contributed to it. He was able to climb - slowly and very carefully – to the top of the gym and ring the bell. When he was down again on safe ground, he was so euphoric that the words were bubbling from him.

“Yes, yes, yes! I made it! Jack, I was up there! Can you imagine that? Well, of course you can. But that’s so… so…” He was flailing around with his arms to replace the missing words. 

Jack was so pleased to see him so happy that of course he had to kiss him again, before he asked, “Can I tempt you with… let me think what’s in the refrigerator…” Jack tapped a finger against his lower lip. “With an omelette?” 

“One of the best pick up lines ever,” Daniel beamed.

* * * 

A quarter of an hour later they were in Jack’s apartment, both soaked wet, because somewhere in the afternoon it had started raining heavily.

“Omelette later,” Daniel decided for both of them and pressed Jack with his whole body against the inside of the front door. He ignored how his wet clothes were clinging cold and heavy to his limbs. All he could think of was chasing the rain drop that was running down Jack’s cheek with his tongue. Endorphins were still running high through his body and this simple gesture felt already extremely erotic to his heightened senses. 

_Slow down,_ he told himself. _Or Jack will think that you’re desperate._ The trouble was he was needy. Wanted to feel more of Jack, and before he had realized what he was doing, his hands were under Jack’s jacket and t-shirt, caressing warm, damp skin. When his searching and exploring fingers reached Jack’s stomach, he felt and heard him inhale. A sense of power rushed through Daniel and he claimed Jack’s lips, avidly exploring Jack’s mouth and his tongue fighting with Jack’s for supremacy. 

So much passion. Jack mentally added a new facet to Daniel’s already complex character. With fumbling fingers Jack divested Daniel of his soaking jacket and used this diversion to turn them around and press Daniel to the door. He suffocated the growling protest he heard by forcing a leg between Daniel’s legs and pressing his knee against Daniel’s groin. He felt the hard bulge even through the two layers of their jeans. The little whimpering noises Daniel made when he rubbed a bit harder sent arrows of arousal through Jack’s body. 

Oh, yes. Daniel flexed his ass muscles and rubbed himself more firmly against Jack’s leg, widening his stance a bit and felt spikes of pleasure travelling from his groin to his whole body. He panted. Dammit, he was going down too fast. He took another deep breath and willed his body not to hump Jack’s leg anymore. “We… should get rid… of the wet clothes,” he mumbled between two kisses. He wasn’t cold, no, not at all. Heatwaves were running through him, warming him, but Daniel wanted to feel Jack’s naked skin and not the clinging, wet garments. 

With an effort Jack tried to listen to what Daniel was saying. And even his mushy brain recognized that this sounded like a good plan. With a superhuman struggle he let go of Daniel’s lips, took a step back and nodded. “Bathroom, shower,” he proposed. 

Daniel put his glasses on a nearby shelf and followed Jack to the bathroom. Within seconds they were naked and together under the warm spray. 

So much wonderful, naked skin. Jack let his hands trace reverently over Daniel’s body. Watching with fascination how his nipples hardened with the first touch, and playing with them until Daniel closed his eyes and groaned loudly. That was the hottest sound Jack had heard in a long while, and he was delighted that Daniel was so open with his feelings and not trying to suppress the sexy sounds leaving his throat. 

His left hand found Daniel’s hard dick and Daniel choked on his next moan. He was already so close and these tantalizing fingers gripping his dick, squeezing just the right amount, and… oh yes, stroking behind his balls now – that was…was… unfair. How was he supposed to last when this felt so right and so perfect? There was only one solution. He dropped to his knees, taking his groin out of Jack’s reach. Under the warm water beating down on his back, running through the crack of his ass, and teasing him further, he leaned forward and licked a long stripe over Jack’s shower warm dick. 

“Nghmph,” Jack said unintelligently. This was… He had to steady himself against the walls of the shower, when Daniel started licking in earnest. Broad, wide stripes on the underside of his dick, short stabbing motions at the crown, and unbelievable suction returning down to his base. And to his balls which were laved in a mixture of Daniel’s spit and the water pouring down on them. When Daniel tapped the inside of his thigh, Jack opened his legs, and the next moment he felt Daniel’s fingers gliding over his dick and his balls, gripping them both and holding them up so that Daniel’s tongue was able to reach the very sensitive skin of the perineum behind. Daniel’s nose was pushing against the underside of his balls and waves of arousal shot in ever shorter intervals through Jack’s whole body. He felt light-headed as if he was climbing the last meters of the Mount Everest with not enough oxygen. 

“Stop,” he croaked and put his hand into Daniel’s hair, caressing the damp strands. “Please, stop.” He didn’t want to come like this. He knew his limits and knew that the tingling in his nuts was a sure sign that he was only seconds away from his orgasm. But as good as this felt, he wanted to come together with Daniel. He pulled on Daniel’s arm, and with a grace that spoke of his much younger bones, Daniel got up from his knees. 

“You don’t like blow-jobs?” he teased, trailing his hand through Jack’s chest hair. 

“A bit too much,” Jack admitted ruefully and took Daniel’s dick in his hand. “Like this?” 

“Good for you, I’m not picky,” Daniel smiled. “As long as I get… oh, ah… okay, that’s wonderful, yes.” He leaned into Jack’s hand that was forming the perfect ring for his dick and masturbated himself for a moment with Jack’s fingers, searching for the right pressure and angle. When every forward and backward motion rewarded him with the right friction, prickling on his skin, he leaned one hand on Jack’s shoulder. With the other he gripped Jack’s straining erection and was gifted with a deep and throaty, “Yeah”. 

Finding a common rhythm was easy. Jack sped up his movements up when Daniel did, and  
Daniel did when Jack did – achieving a very satisfying grinding and pushing, squeezing and rubbing. Both of them were too far-gone to reach for a lot of finesse, their main goal being to get off together. Two minutes later they reached it with a very satisfying groan, followed by a deep kiss to ride out the aftershocks. 

Reluctantly, they left the steamy, warm shower cubicle and towelled off. 

Later, Daniel got his promised omelette and only _one_ beer because Jack had plans. But as those plans coincided perfectly with Daniel’s plans, he didn’t complain and stuck to coffee and orange juice and showed Jack how much undreamed-of passion and dominance could be hidden under the façade of a paper-pusher.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning it was still raining. But nevertheless, Jack had to get up at eight o’clock, Thursday being the day when two school classes came to the climbing gym. He kissed a very sleepy Daniel good-bye and they decided to meet up for lunch in one of the places where you could create your own sandwich.

By then the weather was sunny again but Jack warned that it was only a ridge of high pressure, and the next rainstorm was only hours away. They did a little outdoor climbing on the beginner’s rocks in the nearest surroundings, profiting from the few hours of warm sunshine. 

Sam passed by and asked, “Daniel, have you seen Sarah and Steve? They didn’t show up for their lesson. I’ve tried to reach them by cell phone, but I can’t get a signal.” 

“No, I don’t know where they are. I… I got up late and… uhm… walked around the town a bit.” He didn’t know how open Jack had been about his predilection for men with his colleagues so he preferred to err on the side of caution; even if that meant he had to improvise believable lies. “I haven’t seen them today.” 

“Hm. Jack, did they leave a message with you in the office?” Sam frowned. 

“No, they didn’t. I listened to the messages before I met Daniel for lunch. There was only the usual stuff on it.” He shrugged. 

Sam’s glance went from Jack to Daniel and back, and she looked as if she was on the verge of inquiring about that lunch together. But instead she asked, “Do you think we should be concerned? Or do you think they’ve forgotten the time? This is their vacation after all…” 

“How long are they overdue?” Daniel wanted to know. 

“More than an hour already.” She looked at Jack for a decision. 

“Okay. Let’s check their rooms again, the hotel spa, the climbing routes they already did, and the most popular places for tourists in town. Daniel, go the hotel. Sam you know best about their climbing habits, ask around a bit with the other climbers. And I’ll drive through town. With a red-head like Sarah someone should remember her. We meet back here at half past three, or if you find them before that, call me.” 

Forty-five minutes later it was obvious that they weren’t at any of the familiar places. The rain had started again and they decided to inform the Mountain Rescue Group who promised to send a helicopter. Jack also called some of his friends; all of them experienced alpinists from the Outdoor Center. Just when they started organizing search groups, Tealc arrived. Instead of taking his well earned rest and relax he assured them that he would be part of the search teams. 

Jack wanted to know if Sarah and Steven had shown a special interest into one of the routes or mentioned which one they wanted to try next. Daniel had to admit that he hadn’t talked that much to his colleagues. After some minutes of pondering the question, Sam gave Jack a few possible options. They could skip one because it was near the Outdoor Center, they would have been able to spot them with their binoculars. And another one because it was too easy. 

When Tealc heard one of the names he barged in. “The South face of Arcahino Peak? But that’s only for experienced climbers,” he stated. 

“Ms Gardener was already convinced during our first lesson that she knew everything that is to know about climbing,” Jack sneered. 

“They both tend to overestimate their experience a bit,” Sam admitted more diplomatically.

They took out a detailed map of the area and discussed their options. Half an hour later, Jack called the Mountain Rescue again, told them which search group would go where and coordinated everything with them. Then everybody hit the trail. 

Jack, Sam, Tealc, and Daniel who had insisted on going, started for Arcahino Peak. They wouldn’t take the climbing route but the usual hiking trail, and so Jack had no valid argument against Daniel accompanying them, but nevertheless he attached him to a rope. 

“That’s not necessary, Jack. It’s only hiking,” Daniel complained. 

“That’s not *only* hiking. That’s hiking in a rough terrain and adverse weather conditions.  
Therefore the rope. You feel better –and very important – I feel better, so we’ll do it,” Jack decided inexorably. 

“Jack!” 

“Daniel?” 

“Uhm …look, Daniel,” Sam intervened. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll attach myself also to the rope.” She took out a snap hook and started fiddling. 

Daniel held up his hands in mocking defeat. “Thank you, Sam. But my pride will survive to be the only one attached to a rope if Mr.Hardass feels better that way.” 

Jack gave him a lopsided grin and Daniel had to grin back against his better judgement.  
It soon was obvious that the pouring rain had made everything very slippery and dangerous. Even if Sarah and Steven had hiked to the top of Arcahino Peak by the easier route, and not the South face, they would be in for some difficult passages climbing down. 

“Let’s hope they didn’t take the east ridge trail. It’s extremely dangerous in bad weather conditions because of falling rocks,” Sam said out loud what Jack and Tealc were thinking. 

They trudged along silently under the cold rain. Daniel tried again and again calling their cell phones because cell phone service in the mountain terrain was always intermittent. With a bit of luck, they would perhaps reach a position where they could talk to them. 

The first two hours passed, and no group had any success to report. It was starting to get dark and Jack was thinking about turning around and ordering his search groups back when suddenly Daniel slipped on a slick branch and stumbled. He overbalanced and fell. Unfortunately, he only met the ridge of the trail, which crumbled and carried Daniel down on a landslide. 

“Daniel!” Jack who was a few steps ahead saw him go down the steep hillside in slow motion and nearly freaked out. He only was able to breathe again when he saw, that Daniel had managed to grab onto the mountain and his short fall had come to a rest at the top of large boulder.

“Daniel, are you injured? Talk to me!” Jack leaned over the precipice. 

At first Daniel was too dazed to answer, too scared to move a finger. This was his worst nightmare come true. The moment he had lost his footing, his mind had provided him with all the possible deadly outcomes. 

But he wasn’t dead. He was very alive and the rain was hitting him directly in the face, running under his collar and soaking him. He should really move. _Face your demons,_ he tried to persuade himself and the unbelievable happened – it worked this time. Because suddenly Daniel knew that _falling_ didn’t always equate to _dying_. If you were attached to a rope your fall would end after the length of the rope. He was safe. 

“I’m coming down to you now!” Jack yelled from above. 

“It’s… not necessary”, Daniel answered and manoeuvred himself carefully into a sitting position. “I’m fine.” With the help of the rope he got up on wobbly legs, but before someone could climb down for him, he started climbing up. Because the fall hadn’t been steep, within three minutes, he was back with Sam, Tealc and Jack again. 

“Oh my god,” Jack enfolded him tightly in his arms. “I was so terrified,” he whispered into Daniel’s ear. 

“Me too,” Daniel whispered back. “But then I realized that I wasn’t dead and the rope kept me safe.” 

“Are you injured, Daniel Jackson?” Tealc inquired. 

“No, just a bit wobbly. But I’ll manage. I was very lucky.” He stayed in Jack’s embrace though. 

Then Sam cleared her throat and asked with a grin, “Anything you want to share with the team, boss?” 

“Not now, and not in this hell of a thunderstorm.” Reluctantly, Jack let go of Daniel. “Let’s head back, people. I want to be within sight of the village before it gets totally dark.” 

“But Sarah and Steven?” Daniel didn’t budge. “If it’s on my behalf, I’m fine. I’m a bit shaken but that’s all.” 

Sam laid a hand on his arm. “Daniel, we can’t do anything for them in the darkness. Our flashlights aren’t sufficient to search the South face. Even if they are trying to give us signals we won’t see them. Unless they have a signal light in their rucksack but I don’t think so. I’m sorry, but rescues in the dark are nearly impossible.” 

“But…” 

Sam was saved an answer by the ringing of Jack’s cell phone. 

“O’Neill.” The caller at the other side started talking immediately. At first Jack furrowed his brows and they all stared at him waiting impatiently for an explanation. But then he held his thumb up, and there was a collective sigh. Five minutes later Jack explained that one of the other teams had found Sarah and Steven. They had accidentally scrambled off trail into steep terrain, made a mistake while abseiling, and Steve had fallen, sprained his wrist and his left ankle and suffered from a concussion. “The helicopter is on its way, they’ll fly them directly to the hospital,” Jack finished. 

“So they‘re safe,” Sam beamed. “This is great news.”

“Indeed.” Tealc nodded, took a thermos from his backpack and gave it to Daniel. “We all could use a little sustenance before returning. This is hot herbal tea.” 

“Thank you. Something warm is very welcome now.” Daniel gulped down a big sip, and following Tealc’s nod, passed the thermos to Sam. 

Jack produced salami and some bread from his rucksack, Sam offered everybody a power bar, and fortified by the quick snack they started back. 

Now that the tension to find Sarah and Steven was gone, Daniel felt how exhausted and soaked he was. Perhaps he should have listened to Jack and waited at the Outdoor Center he admitted ruefully to himself for the first time. He was pretty sure Sam, Tealc and Jack would have found their way without his help. He chuckled inwardly. But on the other hand, he loved this feeling of being part of a friendly, caring team where one was looking out for the other. He wouldn’t have missed this experience for anything in the world. 

Even if that meant that he was soaked down to the skin. 

When they were back in town, Daniel called Sarah to find out if everything was okay. She told him, she and Steve would stay one night in the hospital for observation but everything had turned out well. He didn’t want to admonish her at this moment and wished her a good night instead. 

He put away his cell phone. “Well, I think I’ll return to the hotel then,” Daniel said a bit awkwardly and indicated the direction of the hotel with his thumb. 

“Since the cat is already out of the bag you could also stay the night with me,” Jack proposed with feigned nonchalance, mussing up his wet hair with one hand and looking like a spiky hedgehog afterwards. 

“Uhm.. . yes. Yes!” Daniel nodded vehemently after he had overcome his surprise about Jack’s openness in front of Sam and Tealc. 

“I’m happy for you, O’Neill,” Tealc said, inclining his head. And with a smile tugging at his lips he continued, “It was more than overdue.” 

Sam was less formal and pulled Jack in a tight embrace. “Tealc is right. And besides, I like Daniel,” she added with a wink in Daniel’s direction. 

“Thanks, people,” Jack said. “And after this embarrassing display of affection, go home,” he made a shooing motion with his hands, but it was clear that he was relieved and pleased how they had reacted. “See you tomorrow.” 

When Jack and Daniel were alone, Daniel asked, “They already knew about you… your…?” His swirling hand replaced the rest of the sentence. 

“Yes. But it’s the first time they’re actually seeing me bringing someone home. So come on, let’s make the most of it.” 

But unfortunately, once Daniel had taken a hot shower and slurped down some hot instant soup, the events of the day started taking their toll and he yawned incessantly until Jack took pity on him and they crawled under the blankets. 

“I’m sorry, but I’m so exhausted,” were Daniel’s last words, before he snuggled closer to Jack and fell asleep within seconds. 

Jack regarded the silently snoring man at his side with fond amusement. Sam and Tealc were without doubt imagining the sexiest and dirtiest things – and he had ended up with a naked, but completely whacked out houseguest in his bed. But… it was nice. Intimate. His left hand caressed Daniel’s back. It felt so… domestic… as if Jack could have it every day. He quickly gave himself a reality check; Daniel would be leaving in two days, and even if they stayed in contact, even if they spent their holidays together – always assuming that it was what Daniel wanted – he couldn’t really see himself in a long-distance relationship. He wanted more. 

It was better to make no plans beyond tomorrow morning when he would wake Daniel with mind-blowing sex. What happened after that – well, he’d wait and see. With this happy thought Jack also drifted off to sleep.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jack stuck to his plan, and Daniel felt a wet nibbling on his neck and a hand, stroking his arm in wide, soft circles, advancing over his waist in the direction of his slowly awakening penis. This was even better than a cup of coffee in the morning.

“Jack,” Daniel whispered sleepily and wanted to turn around to also touch Jack. 

“Stay.” Half order, half temptation. 

But as Jack’s fingers circled Daniel’s half-hard dick, Daniel decided that it was a good idea and leaned into the touch. A feeling of great satisfaction, pleasure… and yes, happiness, was spreading though his body. Slowly and delightfully he moved his hips forward and backward, pushed lazily into his bed mate’s hand and rubbed against Jack’s already considerable erection.

“You wanna…?” Jack asked. His fingers were gliding through the crack of Daniel’s ass, stroking tenderly against his hole, so that there was no question what his question meant. He would have preferred to roll Daniel onto his stomach and claim what he dreamed about the past few days – but with Daniel he wanted to do everything right, and somehow Daniel struck him as somebody who would appreciate being asked the first time. Even though he’d already had Jack’s ass the first time, as Jack remembered affectionately.

“Yeah, like this,” Daniel consented and turned half on his stomach spreading his legs for Jack. 

Yep, courtesy often paid off. These were Jack’s last coherent thoughts, because he let himself fall into the overwhelming feeling of pressing into Daniel, to be near and even nearer, to feel him breathing under him, to possess his whole body, before his world narrowed down to one focal point of lust and love.

* * * 

The rest of the day passed quickly. They had lunch together, tried bouldering in the wonderful sunshine. Bouldering was something Daniel liked much better than traditional climbing, because it was limited to very shorts climbs, without ropes, and when you were exhausted you simply let yourself fall on the padded mat beneath. So there were no real heights involved and that suited Daniel just fine.

Around five o’clock Jack tried to say good bye because he really had to do some of the workd that he let slide for the last couple of days, Daniel accompanied him and offered to help. 

An hour later he scolded Jack for his inefficiency, and Jack admitted with a deep sigh how much he missed his past assistant and how much he hated paperwork. 

“Color me surprised.” Daniel’s voice was full of sarcasm and he was shaking his head. “Jack, some people owe you money for lessons from June! And I haven’t seen one single reminder yet!”

“Because I haven’t written any. Do you know how much work we had during summer? They beat a path to our door.” 

“No dinner until we send out the reminders for June and July,” Daniel decided categorically, and Jack surrendered more or less graciously. 

But once back at the hotel Daniel spoiled him rotten, and Jack had to admit that this was a very effective way to motivate somebody.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

The day of departure had arrived and neither Jack nor Daniel could express in words what was running through their heads. Everything was still so new and had developed so quickly into something more than a simple holiday fling.

Jack had had more sex in the past few days than in the whole year and he supposed that the same was true for Daniel. But that wasn’t all. There was so much more. Jack felt closer to Daniel, had talked to him about more things than he had to a lot of friends in years. He really wished it wouldn’t end. 

They had spent the night in Daniel’s room and therefore Sam and Tealc came to the hotel the next morning to have coffee with him before the taxi took Daniel to the airport. Sam pulled their chain a bit, but in such a nice manner, that they didn’t mind it. Daniel checked for the third time if his flight was still as scheduled, and while doing that he gave a quick glance to his emails. 

After Sam and Tealc had said their good-byes, Daniel said, “I just received an email that Dr. Jordan promoted me to department head.” 

Jack felt his breakfast forming a heavy stone in his stomach. With a lot of effort he forced a smile to his lips. “That’s … great news. Congratulations, Daniel. I’m sure you deserve it.” 

“Thank you.” Daniel was toying with his cell phone before he put it back into his pocket and looked Jack directly in the face. “But I don’t know if I want this promotion. The past few days I had a lot of time to think about if I really want this promotion that comes with even more hours in the office. I don’t mind working hard, please don’t get me wrong. But do I really want to do that for the rest of my life? Working in an office with no fresh air, only AC, on the fiftieth floor, for an enterprise that is dependent upon the automobile industry? During the last few days I … somehow got the impression, that there must be more exciting jobs out there.” 

“You mean … outside of Chicago?” Jack had to wipe his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans. 

“Yes. But I’ll tell you the truth, only doing the bookkeeping for you won’t be enough. I need …” 

“A challenge. I understand that. But if you promise to help people make more money by having accurate bookkeeping – and not needing to spend a single penny for investments – they’ll swamp you with work. I can put the word out, to see who needs a great accountant.” 

“Nicely put.” Daniel smiled, took Jack’s hand and pulled him a bit closer. “I think I’d love to be independent, be my own boss. But I also have to clarify and sort out a lot of things with Jordan Industries before. I …” 

A taxi arrived and honked and they saw that Sarah and Steven where already sitting in the car that would take them to the airport. 

“I … could take a later flight?” Daniel, having trouble leaving Jack, suggested. 

“Yep, you could do that. But you’d be distracted. You have to clear up the situation in Chicago first before you can start something new, am I right?” He trailed his finger lovingly over Daniel’s cheek. 

“I …” 

Jack pulled him into his arms, but before he could press his lips to Daniel’s, Daniel stopped him with a hand to his chest. With a deep line of worry he asked him, “And what about the gossip?” After all they were in the entrance hall of the hotel, and there were enough employees who’d happily spread the word. 

“They’ll have to get used to it,” Jack declared with a shrug. “I don’t intend to play hide and seek.” Not when he felt so serious about Daniel. 

Daniel’s frown disappeared. “Nor do I,” he confirmed and bridged the last inches that were still separating them to kiss Jack. 

An impatient honking brought them back to reality and Jack accompanied Daniel to the taxi. 

And when Jack waved his hand and stared after the departing car, he realized with a very satisfied smile that his search had come to end. Not only had he found a friend and a lover – but also somebody who’d do all the annoying paperwork for him. 

Sometimes life _did_ give you what you wanted. And Jack had a feeling that this was just the beginning.

\--------THE END-----

©Antares, September 2012 


End file.
